Owners Travel Across State Lines to "Bring Ben Home"

Kheli Mason and her dog Ben, Colorado residents, wanted to take a road trip to visit their friend Katsuko Burk who lives in Las Vegas. Then the two would head to Colton to visit their friend, Joanna Gasca. All was well until Kheli and Jo left the dogs in the house to take a trip to Carlsbad. Everything went downhill from there. “It was supposed to be a relaxing vacation that ended on a sad note, for sure,” Kheli expressed. When they returned to Jo’s house and realized Ben was not inside, “my heart sunk,” Kheli said. They didn’t panic right away. They assumed he would be close; maybe in the backyard, and at least around the neighborhood. “I stayed up all night mostly outside calling him. I really believed he would show up,” Kheli said. However, he never did. “You can imagine how it felt to drive home (to Colorado) without him,” Kheli expressed. Kheli reached out to anyone that she thought could help: neighbors, police, firefighters, and even people that lived under bridges. Even after staying in Colton an extra week, there was still no Ben. Kheli’s friend Jo had an idea to make the Facebook page, “Bring Ben Home”. With this page, they were able to reach out to everyone for help. “There are people from AK, MN, ME, FL, TX, everywhere. Even Australia!” Kheli said with excitement. All of these people helped, not to mention the many people from Colton that kept an eye out for Ben. “My heart was full,” Kheli expressed. Besides the Facebook page, Kheli tried many other things in hopes of finding Ben. “Flyers, yard signs that I had made at FastSigns in San Bernardino... posters, [I] registered him on the Pet Harbor website, Craigslist lost and found pets, and ran large ads in the newspaper,” she stated. Kheli would also like to extend her appreciation to FastSigns who “not only live up to their name but they also included two more signs and printed all double-sided, on the house,” Kheli stated. Kheli also left pieces of her clothing on the fences on the front and back of Jo’s house, “so he could perhaps smell my scent and come back to her yard,” Kheli said; under the clothing she left a bowl of water. She posted this on the “Bring Ben Home” Facebook page with a picture of the shirt hanging from the fence and the caption read: “Hey Ben! New shirt on the fence now. Come back anytime, Buddy! (soon, please).” It had been almost exactly two months since Ben ran away to the day Ben finally came back. Kheli received a call from a woman who claimed she had Ben. However, Kheli did not get this message until a couple hours later. “We played a bit of phone tag,” Kheli said. However, when they finally got a hold of each other, the woman confirmed it was Ben because she read his name and Kheli’s number from his collar. Ironically, by the time Kheli had arrived to pick Ben up, he had already escaped from her backyard. "But at least I knew he was alive,” Kheli expressed. As Kheli was driving back down the hill, she received a voicemail message from a animal clinic that was two blocks from the first house, who said they had Ben. Surprisingly, in a no service area, Kheli was able to call back and she immediately said, “put him in the garage and LOCK THE DOOR!” Just like that, Kheli was finally reunited with Ben; “we both smiled a lot and probably cried too... he's got a beautiful smile,” Kheli added. After this crazy adventure and settling back home in Colorado with Ben, Kheli made her way back to Colton for a “Meet and Greet” with the community who helped reunite the two. About thirty people showed up at Veteran’s Park in Colton to meet Kheli and Ben, most of whom were supporters of Kheli throughout the entire journey. “There are so many kind folks in this area that were so helpful and supportive,” Kheli shared. Not only did folks come out to share their love for Ben, some also brought treats for him. “One woman, Tina, a friend of Jo’s (and now ours!) set out a collection box for gas money to help us get home,” Kheli also wanted to share “a very special thanks for Janet Jimenez, a close Ben-Friend, for her special gift.” Throughout this adventure, of ups and downs, Kheli wanted to add that, “you can never give up and never give in.” In Colorado Kheli has always expressed a term she learned from her grandma, “Mountain Strong”. Kheli never lost hope that she would find Ben. She also wanted to add, “Because of all the folks who didn’t give up on Ben, he is now home again, master of his domain up here in the mountains. And from the bottom of my heart I thank each and every one of them!”